Sheet-conveyer.



E. O. CARTWHIGHT.

SHEET CONVEYER.

WTVESSES.' am

COLUMBIA PLANoaRAPM Co.. WABHINGTGN. D. c.

E. O. CARTWRIGHT.

SHEET CONVEY'ER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.10| 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented Aug. 24, 1915.

O i ATmR/vfys- OMMO" COLUMBIA PLANOCIEAPH C0,. WASHxNGToN. D. c.

E. 0. CARTWRIGHT.

SHEET convex/ER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 10| 1913.

Patented Aug. 24, 1915.

1,151,082. HE T- www summum PLANDGRAPII co.. WASMINGTDN, D. c,

ERNEST 0. CARTWRIGHT, 0F SPRINGFIELD, OI-IIO, ASSIG-NOR OF ONE-THIRD TOLOUIS K. FISHER, OF DAYTON, OHIO, AND ONE-THIRD TO BYRON D. CAMPBELL, OFWEST MILTON, OI-IIO.

SHEET-CONVEYER.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, ERNEST O.- CART- wRreH'r,residing at Springfield, in the county of Clark and State of Ohio, have1nvented certain new and. useful Improvements in Sheet-Conveyers, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My present invention has for its object to provide a simple andinexpensive means adapted for use in connection with paper feedingmachines, for primarily forwarding the fed sheets to the guides of aprinting press or similar machine, and while my present invention, withslight variations m details, may be used with different types ofprinting presses, it is more particularly designed to form a coperatingpart of my complete automatic high speed rotary printing press thatforms the subject matter of my copending application, Serial No. 747 ,375 filed on even date with this application. In the present case I haveillustrated so much of the mechanism, particularly the form bed andother parts of my complete press before referred to, in connection withmy present improvements, as is necessary to properly disclose thestructure, theoperation and the advantages of my said conveyermechanism.

In the development of my sheet conveyer mechanism the coperating partshave been assembled on such lines whereby to cause them to properlycoperate with lthe printing mechanism, per .9cthe sheet pileelevatingthe sheet feeding and sheet separating means disclosed in myaforesaid copending application.

In presses of the front delivery and. rapidly operated cylinder jobprinting kind, it is very essential that easy access may be had to theprinting cylinder and other parts of the printing machine for thepurpose of facilitating the rapid make ready` and adjustments ofy theoperating mechanism. Again in printing pressesvof the general typehereinbefore outlined, trouble frequently occurs during the printing andfeeding operation, done by the action of the air upon the 'front edge ofthe sheet, causing the said edge to turn up or buckle when it isadvanced with sufiicient rapidity to take the sheet from the separatorand put it against the guides, at one impulse of the machine. Toovercome the objections before noted, I

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 2A, 1915.

serial No. 747,376.

have provided a simple andv effectively operating means for feeding thesheets by successive steps, that is, under intermittent progress, andfor eliminating the back lash on the sheet caused by thel action oftheair, as stated. Further, in my construction of sheet conveying means isincluded a special construction and arrangement of feed boards adaptedfor being quickly adjusted or moved and held out of the way of access tothe printing cylinder without in the slightest disarranging theoperative parts of the conveying or other mechanisms.

My conveying mechanism, about to be described, is especially designedfor coperating with the timing devices that regulate the differentcoactions of other mechanisms in my complete printing press constructionbefore referred to and in such manner that all the desired functions ofa sheet conveyer are accomplished with a lesser number of parts than isusual in mechanisms of like class.

In my sheet conveying mechanism, the working principle is based on thefact that it is necessary to move the sheet only a little more than itsown vwidth at each performance of the served machine, in order to servethe guides and grippers, that form a cooperative part of the printingmechanism proper, ,with another sheet on time.

With other objects in view Athat will be hereinafter explained mypresent invention resides in a sheet conveying means that embodies thepeculiar construction and novel arrangement of parts, all of which willbe hereinafter explained, specifically pointed out in the appendedclaims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a sideelevation of my sheet conveyer mechanism, only so muchof a printing press being shown as is necessary to illustrate apractical application of my said mechanism. Fig. 2 is an enlarged detailperspective of onecorner of the conveyer frame, and showing one of itstei-minals, the front paper guides and sheet supporters and the camlever by which the front guides are raised, at times. Fig. 3 is anenlarged detail sectional perspective view of the rear conveyer rollpivot and its cooperating parts. Fig. et is a detail section on the line4-4 on Fig. 1, showing the manner of registering the paper at the frontguides, after vthe paper sheet has finally come to rest against the saidguides, and when the form bed of the printing mechanism is at the limitof its forward position. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the parts shown inFig. 1, the sheet being at rest against the front guides, and the papersheet eveners being shown in the act of placing the sheet in its properposition relative to the tympan. Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail section ofthe overthrow clutch devices hereinafter specifically referred to. Fig.7 is va detail perspective view of the clutch member having theoverthrow slot. Fig. 8 i-s a sectional perspective view of the two' partcam mounted on the main conveyer shaft. Fig. 9 is a detail perspectiveview of one of the paper eveners. Fig. 10' is a detail sectional view ofthe clutch device located on the main framing, by means of which theoperation ofthe conveying mechanism is suspended when the printingoperati-on ofthe press is suspended. Figs. 11-12-13 and 141 area seriesof diagrammatic views that illustrate the different positions of thecam, on the main conveyer shaft and its 'cooperating drop roll which, byreason 'of its intermittent engagements with the conveyer rolll governsthe forwardconveyance of the fed sheets, also the various positions ofthe front yguides and'paper evener devices and their relative positionsto the before-mentioned cam devices, the `said several views beinghereinafter also specifically referred to.

I The conveying mechanism about to be described while, susceptible forbeing readily adapted for any kind of printing machines ismoreespecially designed for coperating withy the printing machinedisclosed in my copending application, since the several parts thatconstitute my conveying mechanism are adapted for use with the timingdevices that regulate the different fcoactions of the printing, the pileelevatingand sheet delivering and separating mechanisms, of my form ofprinting press mentioned. j

In my conveying means is included a feed bloard 1 of 'a length frombetween the guides at the printing cylinder end and the point where thesheets are separated, equal to a multiple of the widest sheet within thecapacity of the sheet separating means plus an addendum for the pausingof the conveyer mechanism, for the purpose of positioning -the sheetagainst the fg'uides.I rllhe side frames 2 of the feed board 1 terminateat their front ends in a housing that consists of the opposite conveyerterminals` 3 which support the front guide shaft 4, the end guides 5,the sheet supporters 6 and the front ltape roll 7 `all of which will bepresently explained. The other, or inner terminals of the side frames 2carry brackets 8,

each formed with a hollow sleeve 9 journaled on the machine framing, thesaid sleeves, as it were, forming a hinge connection for the feed board1, they also accommodating center pins 10 on which the rear tape ro-ll11 revolves. At a suitable( point below the tape roll 11 is located afriction roll 12. The roll 12 is journaled at both ends in links 13loosely held at onev end, on the driving shaft 14: of the conveyer.

15 designates levers that work in a clearance space in the framingandare located in proximity to the journals of the friction roll 12, andthey are pendently suspended from a pair of oppositely disposed levers16 pivotally mounted on the machine toswing in the vertical plane.

That end of the driving shaft 1a adjacent the `drive end carriesay kgear17 that meshes with a pinion 1S on the friction roll shaft for drivingthe latter continuously." Conveyer shaft 14 also carries an adjustablecam 19 whose function is to raise the pivoted levers 16 that carry thefriction roll 12 to hold it in contact with the tape roll 11 for apredetermined time, and then permit the said levers 16 to lower andthereby move the friction roll 12 out 4of Contact with the tape roll 11.y

When arranged as shown in the drawings the conveyer shaft 14 receivesits motion from the served machine through a drive chain 22 and 'asprocket 2O in connection with an overthrow clutch 21, the constructionof which is best shown in Figs. 6 and 7 by reference to which it will benoticed the clutch has but one point, indicated by 23, of engagement inorder to preserve its timing with the served machine. The overthrowclutch feature is taken advantage` of to permit the conveyer `to bemoved lby hand in its forward direction at will, while the printingcylinder mechanism is at rest, as well as to prevent reversed motion ofthe power from backing up the conveyer. On that end opposite itssprocket wheel 20, the drive shaft 14 has a hand wheel 24 for advancingthe conveyer without the machine power and to facilitate the handling ofthe sheets on the feedboard. 0n a brace rod 25 located between thelevers 16, at a point above the tape roll 11 and in jointed connections26, are adjustably supported a plurality of gravity rolls 27, which areheld to always rest in contact with the said tape roll 11, and by reasonof the ysaid jointed connections 26 of the gravity rolls 27 with thesaid levers 16, permits the said rolls 27 to always gravitate againstoneor more of the tapes on the said tape roll 11.

28 designates the endless feed tapes of the conveyer which take overfront tape rolls 7 and tape roll 11, and the said tapes travel close tothe top surface of the feed board 1, asshown. Brace rods 30 are mountedin the conveyer terminals 3 on the front end of the feed board and onthe said rods are mounted a series of sheet supporters or fingers 6, andthese are laterally adjustable to give them the desired distancerelative apart.

Mounted at a convenientv point above the sheet supporters 6 is a rockshaft 4 on which a plurality of front paper guides 4() are adjustablyheld by the collar and set screw connection 41. The rock shaft 4 has aleverlike lug 42 on one end thereof and the said shaft, with its lug 42is rocked to and held at the normal position by the coiled springconnection 43. Rock shaft 4, at predetermined times, is oscillated by alift rod 29, that has a roller bearing at the lower end that is normallyheld in contact with a cam 44 by means of a spring 45, see Fig. 1. Cam44 is located in one end of a cross shaft 46 journaled in the machineframing and at the other end the shaft 46 has a spur gear wheel 47 heldin mesh with a driving gear 48 on a hollow shaft 49 as is best shown inFig. 10. Gear 48 has an integral sprocket wheel 50 over which takes anendless chain 51 driven from sprocket wheel on the intermediate drivingshaft of the printing press to which my conveying devices are attached.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 2 and 5 it will be noticed apair of transversely and parallelly disposed rods 55-56 are mounted toslide endwise in the bracket bearings 57 and these are arranged one toeach side of the rock shaft 4 that carries the front paper guides andare integral with the casting 3. The ends of the rods 55-56 projectbeyond the bearings 57 and at one end they arev joined by a centrallypivoted link 58, see Fig. 5, whose ends pivotally connect with the saidextended ends of the said rods 55-56. A coiled spring 59 is mounted onthe rod 55 and is arranged so it maintains a certain normal position ofthe said two rods 55-56, whose connections are such that as one rodmoves longitudinally in one direction, the other rod likewise moves inthe opposite direction, and vice versa. The rod 56 is adapted forreceiving a thrust movement in one direction by means of a verticallypositioned rocker lever 60 that is actuated, at predetermined times, bya cam 61 on the form bed of the printing machine, as indicated on Fig.4. 5 5 designate a pair of end guide members and they are adjustablymounted for lateral positioning on the cross rods 55-56 by adjustingscrews 53. Each guide member 5 includes a pendent finger 52 forengaging` the outer edges of the sheet as it is fed to the front guide.By mounting the guide 5 as stated, positive motion is imparted to theend of one rod 55 and a like motion to the other rod 56, through thelink connection, but in a direction opposite to the movement of the rod55, the

guides 5, having, as it were, movement toward the center of the feedboard, which affords the use of an end guide, on either end of thesheet, beingfed to the front guides, without altering the movement ofthe rods 55-56.

One of the objects in constructing the guide devices so they receivetheir movements from means upon the served machine to which my conveyermechanism is applied in the manner shown, is to make it possible to liftthe feed board, together with its guides and other mechanisms carriedthereby, away from the normal position and without disarranging theoperative parts elevated therewith, and to restore it to its workinggear without having to make any adjustments or connections. By reason ofthe manner in which the feed board and its cooperating mechanism isarranged, admits of readily lifting the feed board high from theprinting mechanism proper, (see arrow 54 on Fig. l.) thereby giving easyaccess to the form and mechanisms of the press with which my conveyermechanism is used. The rear tape roll 11 before referred to, is locatedclosely adjacent to the separator used in connection with it and as thegravity roll contacts with the tape roll, they receive and forward thesheet separated from the pile.

Briefly stated, the operation of the conveying mechanism described, isas follows:

The timing cam 19 is set to bring the friction roll 12 into contact withthe tape roll 11, simultaneously with the beginning of the separation ofa sheet of paper from the pile of sheets by the separator; they beingalso set to maintain this contact for the desired time and thenreleased. Rotation of the main shaft 14 causes the friction roll 12 torevolve the tape roll 11, and advance the sheet the distance governed bythe timing cam 19. Furtherrotation of the cam 19 on the main shaft 14causes the friction roll 12 to drop, see Fig. 14, the contact with theroll 11 to be broken, and the tapes on the rolls to pause. Repeating'the operation, the first sheet is advanced to the front guides 40 whereit is engaged by either of the end guides 5 and properly centered to beengaged by the printing cylinder carried grippers during the pause ofthe tapes and then taken away to make room for the following or nextsheet. It should be here stated, that the cam 19 is usually set tocontinue the rotation of the tape rolls a little time after the sheethas reached the front guides, (see position shown in Fig. 13), in orderthat the advance of the tapes, after the sheet has come to rest againstthe said front guides may serve to straighten up the front edge of anysheet that may have been advanced out of proper alinement. The endguides 5, do not come into action for `centering the sheet. until thesaid sheet hasl finally come to rest against the front guides andtheform bed has returned to its forward position as in Fig. 11. After theendy guiding is done, the grippers on the printing cylinder close on thefront edge of the sheet, the` front guides are lifted by the oscillatorymovement of the shaft LlA carrying them, and the sheet is then takentoward its destination.

Since the vconstruction hereinbefore described and illustrated in thedrawing is such that the endless conveyer, during a com-plete cycle ofmovement, conveys the sheet alittle more than its own width, so that thesaid sheet bedischarged to the printing cylinder on time and in aproperly straightened position, to make the aforesaid operation of myconveying mechanism yand the advantages of its construction clear, Ihave diagrammatically illustrated, by Figs. 11,-12, 13 and 14C thegeneral arrangement of the conveyer actuating and' feed controllingmeans and the relative posi-tion of a sheet that has been fed up to andIcrosswise up and endwise straightened against the front end guides andanother or following sheet as being fed into proper positionon time andto be properly straightened for being delivered to the cylinder, afterthe first sheet has been printed and delivered from the said cylinder.Iny the said Figs. 11, 12, 13 and 14 I have not' shown the printingcylinder', it being however shown in Fig.` 1

of the drawing at a proper operative position with respect to the frontguides, for the conveyer mechanism.

Referring now speciallyto Fig. 11, it will be noticed that the cam 19 onthe continuously rotating or driving sha-ft 14, is so positioned thatthe friction roll 12 is down and the endless conveyer or sheet carryingtapes are stationary. At this time cam 61 on the form bed of theprinting press has actuated the lever device 60, which in turn hasvshifted the rod 56 toy move the end guide 5 to effect the proper lateraladjustment of thesheet, bringing it, as it were,

.to the position shown in Fig. 11, just ready to be taken by theprinting cylinder grippingmeans, clearly illustrated in my copendingapplication No. 747,375 before referred to, and the cross shaft 4L hasbeen rocked, thereby lifting 'thev front guides 40 and freeing the sheetupon which thel cylinder grippers are closing. Continuous movementof theshaft 14, with the cam 19, At0 the position shown in Fig. 12 now` bringsthe friction roll into contact with the said roll 11, and the gravityroll v27 to coact with the said roll 11, to advance the tapes 28v and`the sheet thereon one step or interval, and to simultaneously receiveanew sheet from a separating mechanism with which my conveyer may becombined, or from my separating mechanism shown in my complete printingmachine shown in my copending application No 74,7,375 mentioned. At thisposition, the cylinder grippers, owing to their greater velocity overthat of the sheet carrying tapes, have advanced' the sheet shown in Fig.11 sufficiently to clear it from under the front guides 40, which areabout tondr'op; and the end guide` 5 has'been restored toits normalposition out of the .line of travel of the sheet about to be advanced bythe tapes 28. The advancing of the successive sheets onl the' tapes 28continues uninterruptedly during thetime of movement yof the shaft 14andthe cam 19 tothe position shown in Fig. 13. At this time, it shouldbe mentioned, the tapes 28, which move intermittently, have beenadvanced 'practically a distance equalv to the maximum width of sheetfor which the conveyer is adjusted, and'this brings the sheet thatfollowed the sheet shown in Figs. 11 and 12 up tothe front guides 4,0,but, as shown, in Fig. 13 out of proper longitudinal alinement with ytheconveyer tapes, a position frequently assumed by the sheets as they areconveyed to the said front guides. At this time the little more movementhereinbefore mentioned ofthe conveyer, which occurs as the cam 19 passesfrom the positionL as shown in Fig. 14, admits of the sheet beingregistered or positioned by the end guide 5. The end guide 5 is held incontact with the sheet until after it has been gripped by the gripperson the cylinder, and such holdi mg of the said guide is provided for bythe flat surface on cam (31A on the form bed, see Fig. 11.

Referringv to the coaction of the main driving means of the printingmachine with my' conveyer mechanism, as is generally disclosed in Figs/1and' 2, it is proper to state that when it is desired to suspend theAprinting' operation a lever 62 is shifted, and in order to ,suspend thesheet feeding functions simultaneously with the suspension oftheprinting, I haveprovided for utilizing the shifting movement of the saidlever 62 for throwing out of running gear the sprocket wheel 20, and forsuch purpose the devices shown in detail in Fig. 10 are used, theconstruction of which and they operation thereof are best explained asfollows: Lever 62, when swung in thedirection of the arrow 63 engages abeveled disk 64 on the outer end of av transversely disposed rod 65 thatis normally thrust outwardly by a spring 66 that encircles the said rod.The inner end of the rod 65 carries a yoke 67 having long clutch 68, onemember of which is normally held in engagement with a clutch lug 69integrally withv the gear 48; i The clutch pin 68slidably engagesanopening 70 in a second sprocket 71 from Which takes a chain 22 thattransmits the motion to the sprocket 2O of the conveyer shaft 14. Whenthe lever 62 is swung over as stated, the rod 65 is forced back in thedirection of the arrow 72 and the clutch yoke and its pin 68 are movedfrom over the opposing clutch gear, and When thus positioned furtherrotation of the sprocket 50 has no effect on the driving chain22,thereby leaving, as it were,

the shaft 14 for being freely rotated by hand to bring the paper sheetsinto proper position before again starting the machine.

IVhat I claim is:

1. In a sheet conveyer, the combination of the following elements; anendless carrier for conveying the sheets, the said carrier including adriving roll, a continuously rotating driving shaft and gear, a cam onthe shaft, a sheet retarder against Which the conveyed sheets are fed, afriction roll constantly in mesh With the driving gear, a swingingsupport for the said friction roll, said swinging support beingcontrolled by the cam on the driving shaft whereby to,

move the friction roll into contact With the carrier roll at times, thesaid cam being arranged for holding the driving roll to impart advancemovement to the endless carrier a distance in excess of the length ofthe sheet being conveyed, and means for freeing the front edge of theadvanced sheet after the carrier has completed its intermittentmovements forward.

2. In a sheet conveyer, an endless carrier, means for intermittentlyadvancing the carrier by single steps or movements, other means that isbrought into action during the final part of each step of movement ofthe carrier for engaging the front edge of the sheet as it is stillbeing advanced, and a further means actuated from the machine foredgevvise engaging and straightening the sheet when said endless carrieris at rest.

ERNEST O. CARTWRIGHT.

Witnesses:

AUG. L. BEAUPAIN, HAROLD LARsEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe C'ommissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

